Maintaining high artistic standards could only become the major consideration when public funding became an accepted part of cultural life after the war.

They did all this at a time when public funding was very limited; and almost to a man they trained and competed while in full-time jobs.

The danger is made the more potent by changes in public funding for ancillary relief cases that came into force last October.

Above all, of course there was going to be controversy about public funding.

There were also legal concerns as the government is not allowed to replace public funding with lottery money.